Providence Cancer Institute at Providence St. Joseph Health is pursuing a first-in-human phase I clinical trial of CORVax12, a novel DNA-encodable, investigational vaccine, which is intended to act as a prophylactic vaccine to prevent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), according to OncoSec, the vaccine’s developer.
The CORVax12 vaccine approach combines the co-administration of tavokinogene telseplasmid (interleukin-12 plasmid; IL-12; TAVO) with a DNA encodable version of the SARS-CoV-2 spike or “S” glycoprotein, which was developed by scientists at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Vaccine Research Center to enhance immunogenicity of the component.
“Previous vaccine efforts against coronaviruses, including the SARS coronavirus, have focused on the S glycoprotein, which facilitates interaction with the host cell through binding to the ACE2…